Lessons from the Bloomberg Equality Summit
I was lucky enough to attend the Bloomberg Equality Summit in London on recently. There were a number of phenomenal speakers on the day, but for me the most inspirational was @Reggie Nelson. Reggie’s story of triumph against adversity, and the courage that he has displayed in chasing his dreams, really resonated with me. Social inclusion & mobility is so crucial to healing the divisions within our society, and also to ensuring that everyone has the potential to be the best that they can be. It also speaks to @Standard Chartered's purpose statement – Driving Commerce and Prosperity Through our Unique Diversity.
The equality summit covered many aspects of the diversity and inclusion agenda, and throughout the day three key themes came up repeatedly. Firstly, the importance and value of positive role models. Secondly, the importance of measurement and reporting to meeting diversity goals. Finally, the importance of processes in helping to drive real change.
Positive Role Models Make a Real Difference
Almost all of the speakers on the day raised the need for positive role models. The most important influence in encouraging people from diverse backgrounds is seeing “people like me” succeeding in their firm and industry. This inspires young people to chase their dreams, and helps them to stick with it when things get tough. In the case of gender and ethnicity, role models are often easily identifiable, but when it comes to some of the other parts of the agenda (sexual orientation, disability, mental health, social background) speaking out as a role model can take more courage. It is incumbent on all of us who are successful to speak out on these issues to inspire confidence in the next generation – no matter how hard it might be, or how vulnerable it may make us feel.
What Gets Measured Gets Managed
There was a lot of focus on gender equality throughout the day. Funnily enough, it felt very much as if this is the D&I stream with which everyone present felt the most comfortable. Whilst there is still much to do in achieving gender equality in our profession, and particularly in front office and senior roles, it seems that business leaders are genuinely engaged with this topic. Many speakers on the day discussed the importance of gender pay gap reporting in driving this shift in mindset. This generates the sense that “what gets measured gets managed”, and is behind campaigns to publish similar statistics for other D&I streams, including ethnicity.
Processes Matter
And finally, there was a recognition that humans are fallible. No matter how good our intentions, or our belief in the business benefits of diversity, we still have a tendency to repeat previous recipes for success – and this extends to hiring and promotion decisions. As a result, changing processes to make it easier for people to make good decisions is crucial. For instance, every single company on Bloomberg’s Gender Equality Index has a pipeline problem. There was a sense on the day that only through robust processes, and genuinely balanced recruitment and promotion decisions, can we drive meaningful change.
Together we can Make a Difference!
I left the event feeling really encouraged. There are so many passionate and brave people dedicating a lot of time and energy to this topic – and it really feels like we are making a difference! Together, we really can drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity! Thank you for reading my blog!
Kirsty Garrett